The Opinion Blog

Foolish for Horry to duck authority discussion

Today's editorial urges Horry County Council to take part in the legislatively ordered inquiry whether our local airports should be turned over to an authority:

It's understandable why Horry County Council passed this week on joining the state-mandated panel to study whether an authority should take over the county's airports. What better way to scuttle an effort you don't believe in than refusing to consider being part of it? Under current state law, there is no way the county can be forced to give up its ownership of Myrtle Beach International Airport and its three other airports.

The sky could end up falling -- on airport planners

Today's editorial notes that insulting skeptics is a bad way to build public support for a new passenger terminal at Myrtle Beach International Airport:

As The Sun News reported Monday, the effort to expand passenger capacity at Myrtle Beach International Airport continues apace. That's great. Just as the spokesman for the airport's construction management firm notes, it stands to reason that at some future point, increased passenger traffic will necessitate more gates for airliners and more space for the passengers they swallow and disgorge.

Horry owes us a more thorough airport explanation

Today's editorial calls on Horry County leaders to offer more complete justification for expanding passenger-terminal capacity at Myrtle Beach International Airport:

You can't blame longtime observers of Myrtle Beach International Airport for greeting with skepticism a consultant's recommendation last week that Horry County, the facility's owner, double its passenger capacity by 2025. The county's management of the facility in recent years has been spotty - though the city of Myrtle Beach, which oversees airport planning and zoning, shares some of the blame for that. In the resultant political climate, any county-related proposal on the future of the airport begins life with one strike against it.

Horry in charge at MB airport -- and shows it

Today's editorial explains the symbolic power of Friday's groundbreaking for the new general aviation terminal at Myrtle Beach International Airport:

Some argue that Friday's groundbreaking for the new general aviation terminal at Myrtle Beach International Airport was premature, considering that a key city of Myrtle Beach board has not yet given the project its final OK. Perhaps so.

But even if the city's Community Appearance Board finds fault with some aspects of the project, now slated to cost $4.5 million, the spading of a few shovelsful of dirt doesn't affect the project's future. Before construction money gets spent, airport owner Horry County will have plenty of time to deal with any concerns the CAB might raise. County Council must also approve a project budget increase of $500,000 before serious work can begin.

Legislators made a hash of airport authority bill

Today's editorial notes that poor timing and inadequate preparation doomed two local legislators' alternative-governance proposal for Myrtle Beach International Airport from the outset:

One reason the future of Myrtle Beach International Airport has seemed so murky is that no firm Horry County Council majority has ever charted a consistent course for the facility. Two Myrtle Beach Republican legislators have "solved" that problem with their proposal to transfer control of the airport from the county to a 10-member authority.

On Tuesday, council members declared 12-0 that they would not cooperate with the airport-authority measure, which S.C. Sen. Luke Rankin and S.C. Rep. Alan Clemmons proposed earlier this month. The council's the-airport-is-ours-forever declaration renders pointless any further pursuit of the Rankin-Clemmons proposal. Without county cooperation, an authority can't happen.

Brainpower could shape more useful MB airport plan

In an editorial today, the newspaper notes that something positive could come of the legislative proposal to place control of Myrtle Beach International Airport under a quasi-independent governing body:

Last week, the newspaper's editorial board panned proposed legislation to wrest ownership of the county's airports from Horry County government and transfer it to a 10-member state-run commission. The chief concern was that too little time remains in this year's General Assembly session for legislators to fix the bill's flaws and craft a plan that Horry County could support. Change can't happen without the county's cooperation.

Now one of the legislation's sponsors, S.C. Sen. Luke Rankin, R-Myrtle Beach, plans to give folks with an interest in local airports a chance to comment, before the session ends, on his airport-commission proposal. (S.C. Rep. Alan Clemmons, R-Myrtle Beach, has introduced an identical bill in the House.) A Senate Transportation subcommittee will convene this week in Columbia to hear testimony into the legislation.

MB airport authority bill comes months too late

Today's editorial takes issue with the proposal by S.C. Sen. Luke Rankin and S.C. Rep. Alan Clemmons to transfet Horry County's airports to a state-run commission:

Let Rankin-Clemmons airport plan go nowhere

A question for S.C. Sen. Luke Rankin and S.C. Rep. Alan Clemmons, who this week filed identical bills to give control of the Myrtle Beach International Airport to an unelected entity called the Grand Strand Airport District: Why didn't you guys pitch this legislation at the beginning of this year's legislative session?

By waiting until now to pitch an alternative airport governance plan, Rankin, R-Myrtle Beach, and Clemmons, R-Myrtle Beach, virtually guarantee that nothing productive can happen. Horry County's other three senators were right this week to greet the proposal with the same enthusiasm they'd show a plate of undercooked fish.

On terminal upgrade, Horry is off on the right foot

Today's editorial takes positive note of Horry County's public-oriented approach to planning the upgrade of the existing passenger terminal at Myrtle Beach International Airport:

"Prediction: Horry County's unprecedented effort to involve local folks in the improvement of the present east side terminal at Myrtle Beach International Airport won't fend off public criticism of the project. Some local folks remain dead set against any expansion of passenger capacity at our airport.

"Just the same, the county deserves great credit for ensuring there's not the slightest hint of secrecy about this new project. Call this "learning from experience."